Working to Require Insurance Coverage for Treatment of a Debilitating and Disfiguring Side Effect of HIV Medications
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The Treat Lipodystrophy Coalition is working to pass An Act Relative to HIV-Associated Lipodystrophy Treatment. This bill requires private insurers, MassHealth, and the Group Insurance Commission to provide medical treatment for lipodystrophy, a disfiguring side-effect of lifesaving, but highly toxic, HIV medications.
HIV antiviral medications, known as “triple combination therapy” or “the cocktail,” revolutionized AIDS care in the 1990’s, extending the lives of people with HIV. These medications also can result in lipodystrophy, the abnormal distribution of body fat. The condition creates “visible disfiguring and stigmatizing morphological changes” in body shape and appearance, causing profound physical and psychological harm to people with HIV.
While there are inexpensive, effective medical treatments for lipodystrophy, insurers routinely deny claims for treatment on the basis that they are cosmetic and not medically necessary.
For more information, contact:
Bennett Klein, Esq., Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
Senior Attorney and AIDS Law Project Director | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | 617-426-1350